Irish Examiner view: Micheál Martin's delicate balancing act
![Irish Examiner view: Micheál Martin's delicate balancing act Irish Examiner view: Micheál Martin's delicate balancing act](/cms_media/module_img/7670/3835264_2_articlesmall_IMG_2835.jpeg.jpg)
Tánaiste Micheál Martin and the Irish delegation meeting China's vice president Han Zheng and Chinese officials in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on Monday.
His outspoken views on the Israeli bombardment of Gaza have already ruffled feathers, so it will not be a surprise to see Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin shake things up once more on his state visit to China this week.
While the four-day visit is nominally slated as an opportunity to renew political, economic, and cultural connections between the countries, it will also give the Tánaiste access to the likes of China vice-president Han Zheng and foreign minister Wang Yi and allow him extrapolate Ireland’s priorities for the relationship.
Aside from discussing matters such as climate change and sustainable development goals, Mr Martin will have the opportunity to discuss prescient subjects such as the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
He has already rebutted some of the Chinese ambassador’s comments to this newspaper last month, in which He Xiangdong claimed Ireland was succumbing to American and European “fever”.
While the two countries have differing views on numerous foreign policy topics, this may well be an opportunity for Mr Martin to highlight China’s role in ongoing cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns globally, as was highlighted in yesterday’s 'Irish Examiner' by Richard Browne, director of the National Cyber Security Centre.
Across Europe, it is expected that disinformation campaigns by Russia and China will increase. Hopefully Mr Martin will take the opportunity to highlight to the Chinese authorities the unacceptability of it meddling in or trying to influence Ireland’s affairs — up to and including hybrid attacks on maritime and subsea infrastructure.
As Ireland’s stance on Israeli atrocities in Gaza comes under the microscope, Mr Martin will need to straddle the balance between delicate diplomacy and speaking truth to power, something which he appears to be relishing more and more in his role in foreign affairs.
Consequential votes in several states — starting today in Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia — will see the abortion issue emerging as the defining faultline of the elections, and will be seen as a fresh test of its political potency nearly 18 months after the US Supreme Court ended the federal right to a pregnancy termination.
![Harry Burton's cartoon on Roe v Wade and abortion rights in the US published by the 'Irish Examiner' in May 2022 was a runner up in the European Cartoon Awards. Harry Burton's cartoon on Roe v Wade and abortion rights in the US published by the 'Irish Examiner' in May 2022 was a runner up in the European Cartoon Awards.](https://www.irishexaminer.com/cms_media/module_img/7670/3835078_11_articleinline_Copy_20of_20HarryBurton_070522_1_1_.jpg)
The 2022 decision to overturn Roe v Wade threw American politics into turmoil and transformed what was a long-standing social battle into an electoral timebomb which helped the Democratic Party to critical victories in the mid-term elections 12 months ago.
Now, with several staunchly Republican states having implemented abortion restrictions, abortion is once more to the fore in elections across the country.
Ukraine is facing many battles — physical and political — at this point, but the resolve of the country to attain membership of the EU is seen both locally and internationally as one which is vital to the country’s future wellbeing.
![European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European Council president Charles Michel in February this year. Picture: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European Council president Charles Michel in February this year. Picture: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty](https://www.irishexaminer.com/cms_media/module_img/7670/3835087_10_articleinline_GettyImages-1246950771_1_.jpg)
At a time when the conflict in Gaza has redirected the world’s focus from the war in Ukraine, it is time for the country’s diverse allies — and those in Europe particularly — to double down on its support for Kyiv.
But what Ukraine says it does not want, and particularly from next month’s meeting of EU leaders, is a sympathy vote on gaining membership. The administration in Ukraine rightly believes that, unless it meets all the criteria for accession to the EU, the matter should not even be considered. A review due to be published tomorrow is expected to reveal which of those countries seeking membership is most advanced with accession reforms.
Ukraine says it is committed to winning the war and gaining membership of the EU, but before the war began discussions on enlargement were essentially taboo. That has changed radically over the last two years and the subject is now treated with greater urgency, but Ukraine’s assertion it wants no undue favours is the correct one and one which will stand it in good stead into the future.